Fr. Dave Ayotte was recently assigned to St. John Eudes in Chastworth before coming to St. Monica. After emigrating from Canada when he was 4, Fr. Dave’s family settled in Eastern Los Angeles, where he attended Bishop Amat Memorial High School. During college, Fr. Dave discerned a vocation to the priesthood and entered the seminary, however he wasn’t yet sure of his true calling. It wasn’t until he returned to LA, began a teaching position in the Religion Department at Bishop Amat, and completed his graduate work at Mount St. Mary’s that he felt strongly called to the priesthood. Fr. Dave completed his seminary studies at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo in 1992. He worked extensively with the Jesuits and as a diocesan priest, both in the United States and abroad. Fr. Dave held simultaneous roles as the Director of Development for the Jesuit Conference of Africa & Madagascar and Undergraduate Theology Professor at Jesuit Schools of Theology at Hekima College in Nairobi Kenya. He has literally been all over the world living his vocation and credits both his diocesan and Jesuit formation that have challenged him, spiritually and professionally, in unique ways. Fr. Dave enjoys Hiking, visiting the Grand Canyon, being in nature, reading, and Sci-fi.

Fr. Dave can be reached by phone by calling the Parish Office at (310) 566-1500, 

Fr. David is a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross, living in-residence and assisting at St. Monica,  Although he regularly preaches and presides at sacraments, his full-time job is National Director of Family Theater Productions where he has worked since 2008.  Father David also gives retreats and talks on spirituality, faith and media, and Catholicism and film. He is a Notre Dame football enthusiast, loves to travel and is a film buff. 

Fr. David grew up in Mt. Carroll, Illinois, where both his parents and sister (with her husband and six children) still live. He received a BA in American Studies and a Master of Divinity from the University of Notre Dame and an MFA in film and television production at Loyola Marymount University. He was ordained a priest of Holy Cross in 1991. Fr. David’s work with Family Theater Productions and the Congregation of Holy Cross often take him out of town for meetings and projects. 

To reach him by phone, call the Parish Office at (310) 566-1500 or Family Theater Productions at (323) 874-6633.